Quests
Learning paths through this topic
Settle a time-bonus pickup that arrives on the very tick the countdown ends
The player grabs a clock with a fraction of a second to spare, and the screen still says time is up. Or the bonus arrives after the end and gives back a mission that was already lost. Here is the order of events that feels right and always ends the same way.
Run a "finish in 60 seconds" challenge clock that ignores pauses and sleep
A player pauses to answer the door, closes the laptop lid, or lands a hundred hits that each freeze the screen, and the timed challenge is lost without a fair try. Here is how to decide which moments run the clock and how to keep one huge jump from eating it.
Make a "send them away for four hours" quest safe against clock changes
Players set the phone clock forward to finish a waiting quest at once, or back and forth by accident while travelling. Here is a timer that counts only believable time, marks suspicious jumps, and asks the server before it pays out.
Roll quest progress back when the player undoes a move
A player undoes a move and the quest still shows the gems or the combo that move earned, or the reward fires and then the move is gone. Here is why subtracting is not enough, what to store per move, and when a quest may really be called complete.
Warn the player before a one-way door shuts away missed collectibles
A level has a drop the player cannot climb back up, and three collectibles remain behind it. They find out only at the end, with a number that can no longer be completed. Here is how to tell, before the door, exactly what would be lost.
Stop "clear the wave" from completing in the gap between two spawns
The last visible enemy falls, the next group is a second away, and the mission already says cleared. Or an enemy splits into smaller ones and the count dips to nothing for a single instant. Here is how to know a wave is truly over.
Credit "defeat ten enemies with fire" when the enemy burns down after a weapon swap
The player sets an enemy alight, switches to the pistol, and the enemy dies of the flames a moment later. Which weapon gets the defeat? Counting the weapon in hand is wrong, and so is counting only the first one used. Here is a fair way to decide.
Rotate weekly challenges so the same kind never comes twice in a row
A random pick sometimes gives the same challenge two weeks running, or three shooting tasks in a row, and players feel the game ran out of ideas. Yet a strict order is predictable. Here is how to draw at random while still keeping variety, and what to do when the pool is small.
Choose which active quest the on-screen marker follows
With six quests open, the arrow on the screen jumps between them as you walk, or always points at the story quest nobody wants right now. Here is a rule with the player's choice first, a stable automatic pick second, and no flicker.
Make "win three levels in a row" survive quitting, crashes and retries
If leaving a level mid-way costs nothing, a streak quest is trivial: quit whenever it looks bad. If a crash costs the streak, players are furious. Here is where to draw the line and the tiny state that makes both cases behave the same on every phone.
Keep a "win three levels in a row" quest honest when the player quits mid-level
Players learn that closing the game before a loss keeps the streak alive. Others lose a streak to a crash they did not cause. Here is how to treat quitting, crashing and resuming so the streak means something and stays fair.